Published - 17th June 2025
“We should use AI to free up our time to be creative.”
That is the overwhelming sentiment whenever we discuss AI use with our team here at Harris Creative. In an agency that values differing opinions and welcomes diversity of thought, it’s an issue that we’re all remarkably in-sync about.
That’s what led to the development of our AI policy, crafted through consultation with our full team, and headed by our SEO and PPC executive, Zeitzan Palazli. The policy sets out our stance on AI, how we’re ensuring client confidentiality, and where we do and do not believe that it is appropriate to lean on AI.
We are fortunate to have Zeitzan’s expertise: she is currently working towards a PhD in digital ethics, giving her a more in-depth understanding of the implications of AI use than most people working in marketing today. And in our policy, we set out a clear guide on how we can use AI to benefit our clients without compromising creativity, confidentiality, or our in-depth knowledge of construction and built-environment marketing.
We pride ourselves on our understanding of the construction sector and our ability to offer creative solutions and build unique campaigns for our clients.
That’s why we welcome the use of AI as a tool that can assist us to be more creative. In modern marketing, there are several tasks that might take up more of our time than we would like: whether that is reporting, setting out actionable next steps in a client project, or finding a solution to a troublesome bit of code in a website. AI can offer handy shortcuts here, allowing us to do tasks that could take hours if done manually in a matter of minutes.
We also use AI to spot issues with our content – but we are not asking AI to generate content for us whole-sale. And we certainly use AI tools in design for quick fixes such as removing background objects from cluttered photos. But we are not using AI in place of our own judgement and creativity: we are using it to move projects along in a timely manner, allowing us to keep our costs down for clients and to free up time and thinking space for creativity and problem-solving.
That’s how our clients will benefit from Harris Creative’s AI policy.
As construction marketing specialists, we understand the importance of trust within the industry – with the advent of the Code for Construction Product Information (CCPI), and tighter regulations within the industry as a result of the Grenfell disaster, this is only becoming more pertinent.
Those within the construction sector should be able to trust the marketing materials they encounter, whether that is data sheets, videos, or social media posts. That alone is enough to make us think carefully about where we implement AI and how far the industry should trust content generated by large language models that have not been carefully fact-checked by knowledgeable human beings.
But more than this, we know that authenticity in marketing matters. We find that across all marketing channels, showcasing real people is what works best, whether that’s on social media, websites, or in PR campaigns. People are craving authenticity – and are getting better at spotting inauthentic images and copy.
I recently attended a webinar on AI delivered by the Chartered Institute of Public Relations’ Construction and Property Special Interest Group (CAPSIG) in which the delegates were asked to guess which of two articles was fully AI generated – and we almost all immediately guessed correctly. People are on the look-out for M-dashes, Too Many Capitals, and other AI quirks that make your content look inauthentic – and the same is true for graphics and images.
AI has cemented its place amongst the marketing tools at our disposal, but we know that it’s exactly that: an aid to our creative thinking, not a replacement for it.
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